Embers of Ruin
He couldn't think of being anywhere worse than he was now, a small masochistic part of him would be rather facing off against Riddle again than the predicament he found himself in.
The sound of chatter filled the grand ornate ballroom chamber of the French Minister of Magic's chateau just outside of Montpellier. The building was just as pompous and stereotypically French as the man himself; how he was still in office after what happened at the ministry in Paris was unbelievable.
The champagne on offer flew like water, and trays of hors d'oeuvres floated amongst the guests. The tiny treats did little to satisfy anyone's hunger. Not that the guests would care, these sorts of events meant that either your food and drink was out of this world or lower than dog shit, depending on your view of the host.
Today was a dog shit event.
The guests were a different matter. The majority of those who attended this event were shallow and altogether useless. There were a good few men and women, however, who brought something to the purpose of the ball. Why the extras were required was beyond him, a political show if nothing else.
The majority of the European heads of state were present, along with ICW members. They all mingled amongst one another, discussing the troubles of the day. Ever since Paris, the raids on this shadowy new terrorist group had increased, however, they'd made as good as zero progress in neutralising them. The raids had become more brutal, ever increasingly spellfire spilled onto the streets in France and Belgium. However, the results didn't match the effort. Whenever they managed to bring anyone in alive they got nothing but a wall of silence. Even when they used truth serums on the captives, they got no names, no major plans. Their enemies were clever, they used code names in place of real ones, making it impossible to pin down targets.
The violence of the raids on both sides was disturbing. He hadn't lost any of his own Aurors, thank Merlin for that, but he had put down a few underlings of the group and he had received a fair share of blows himself. Being the Chosen One and a war hero didn't give you any special advantage in a duel. He thanked his lucky stars he was quick on his feet and with his wand.
"Why so absent-mindedly, dearest husband? Are you distracted by all the beautiful women here this evening?" The soft familiar voice of his wife whispered in his ear. He chuckled, turned to Daphne, and drank in her appearance for what must have been the one hundredth time that night. The cobalt blue one shoulder gown she wore hugged her with class and dropped down to her feet from the waist on in graceful folds that rested just before the floor. The dark material shimmered with a light silver dusting that caught the ornate lighting within the hall. She'd kept her long blonde hair simple: free of adornments, it hung straight down to the middle of her back, just the way he loved it. As always, she had kept her jewelry to a minimum, a pair of diamond studded earrings that matched her engagement and wedding rings adorned her ears.
Why would a veritable goddess such as her marry a man like him? She and Jessie were the godsent of his life.
"Athena herself could be present here and my eyes would not be swayed from you," he said in a low voice and put his arm around her waist.
A delicate eyebrow rose up. "Athena? Didn't you mean Aphrodite?"
"And get accused of using trite compliments? I know perfectly well that you'd rather be complimented for your brains than for your looks, so Athena it is. She's got both, like you."
"Well, that's quite reassuring to hear, Mr Potter." She flashed him a brilliant smile, and his breath caught. He might not understand why she chose him, but he knew why he chose her. He could be anywhere in the world and suffer as long as she was by his side.
"Would it kill them to serve a biscuit or something," he whispered into her ear.
His wife shook her head with an amused sigh. "You're getting as bad as George"
"Could you imagine him here?" Harry couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him at the thought of the possible reaction of his partner. "Christ, he would've walked out the minute someone served him this stuff." He gave the tray of hors d'oeuvres that floated by a disgusted look.
Daphne laughed. "No, you are right, although I wish he hadn't introduced oaty flips to Jessica. All she wants to do is go to that shop you both took her to. Asda was it?"
"We will make a Muggle out of you yet." He winked at her and got a light slap on the arm for his efforts—as he knew that would happen. He also knew her next word.
"Prat."
"I know, but you love me nevertheless." He grinned at her in a way that had yet to fail to get him back in her good graces.
Her lips twitched, and she looked as if she was going to continue their banter some more. It never came to that.
There was a sudden change in volume as the doors to the ballroom opened, and a small handful of finely dressed wizards and witches entered. The French Minister practically ran towards them.
Harry pursed his lips in a silent whistle. Whomever they were, they must have some clout. "You know, I never thought a man that large could run," he whispered into his wife's ear.
The involuntary chuckle that escaped her spoiled the stern look she gave him. "Harry! Behave yourself!" She bit her lip to prevent more laughter.
He leaned closer to her and wriggled his eyebrows. "Shall you punish me later if I do not?"
Her eyes turned wide for a brief moment, then a slight smirk appeared on her lips. "Behave yourself, otherwise you won't be punished for a week."
Touche! Harry grimaced and nudged his wife's shoulder with his own gently to admit his defeat, before looking towards the new arrivals.
A group of about ten had arrived, but the minister was focusing on only one.
"He must be important for such attention from the minister," Harry muttered.
Daphne nodded to that, her attention also on the group.
The person in question was a slender wizard with mousey brown curled hair. He wore no robes and stood with an air of air of noble authority. His black slim fitted trousers with a matching coat tailed blazer, paired with a light grey waistcoat enhanced that impression. The man would not have looked out of place in the 18th century if he went back in time.
"More than likely, everyone thinks ministers and political leaders are the ones chased after. Yet it's often the other way around, to keep power you need influence, so you surround yourself with people who hold much of it," Daphne replied, sipping her drink.
"So that's why Kingsley keeps me around then?" He smirked, she returned the smile but kept a serious expression.
"Partly, yes. That, and you were in the order. But whoever holds Harry Potter's approval in Britain-well that gives them a lot of influence."
"Bloody bullshit if you ask me."
"Nobody did, they just hold you up as a beacon of victory, a light in the dark," Daphne spoke with dramatic flair.
Harry grimaced. "I'm going to vomit if you carry on."
"Not on my dress, you are not!" She shot him a dark look.
"You'd have to take it off, and I wouldn't complain. I'm sure a few of the old gentlemen here wouldn't mind either," he whispered. "Although it would catapult their blood pressure to an all-time high within seconds and send them to their death."
"How much have you had to drink?" She narrowed her eyes in suspicion and looked at the glass of wine in his hand.
"This is only my second. What can I say, you just happen to look very beautiful tonight." a wry smile tugged at his lips and he winked at her. "Then again, you always do." .
Daphne's face softened. She stepped a little closer and leaned up to whisper in his ear. "Jess will be asleep when we get home." She leaned back, her eyes glowed with mischief.
The look she gave him sent a rush of blood to his lower regions.
"How long till this thing is over?" He twisted his wrist to check his watch. "Three hours, bloody hell," he murmured with a dramatic sigh that had his wife giggle and place her free hand onto his chest in affection.
"It's good to see a happy marriage," a voice from behind Daphne said.
Harry looked up with a slight frown about the interruption of his flirt with his wife. The voice was familiar to him from a recent encounter.
"Lord Fawley, I didn't expect to see you here this evening. Might I introduce you to my wife, Daphne Potter?" he greeted the older man.
Joseph Fawley was of average height for a male, sporting short light brown and wavy hair that showed broad streaks of grey at the front and sides. His goatee also showed more grey than brown. He wasn't fat, but he wasn't a prime example of health either, with a nice portion of past-middle age spread around his middle..
"I have friends in France, Mr Potter, and I love French food," the older man said with a warm voice and a cheery smile. "And my, I 've heard of your beauty, Mrs Potter, yet your admirers do not do you justice." He bowed over Daphne's hand and kissed her knuckles.
Harry suppressed a smirk, he knew his wife hated the custom of kissing her knuckles.
"You are very kind, Lord Fawley" she replied with a radiant smile.
"I believe you work with my son, Jeremy? He is here somewhere ah, there he is!"
Harry had to prevent himself from rolling his eyes and gently placed a hand on Daphne's hip in a possessive gesture.
Her eyes flicked to his, gauging his response. After the brief drama he'd created in his own mind all those years ago, and the confirmation of their bond he got from Daphne afterwards, the younger Fawley was more of an annoyance than any form of concern to him, yet there was something about the man that appealed to his lower instincts.
The man in question weaved through the crowd of people, his eyes fixed on one person. Even after all these years, which included Daphne and his wedding and the birth of their daughter, he had not given up. Harry almost pitied the poor sod, with 'almost' being the operative word there.
"Apologies, Father, I was speaking with the Count of Marseille, he is very keen on my input on some investments," Jeremy said with an air that reminded Harry of Percy when talking about his work for Barty Crouch sen. "Daphne, it's wonderful to see you, as always, finally a chance to see you outside of the office." He nodded and raised his glass to her., His eyes flicked to Harry. "Potter," he said in a less than enthusiastic voice.
"Well, the count is often flawed in his investments, pray you don't make it worse, son" Lord Fawley said.
The younger Fawley ignored his father and turned to Daphne. "I was going to mention in the office, actually, but whilst we are here, why not now," he said with an excited smile. "Imagine, the head of department is sending the department to Paris for a week, Daphne." He flickered a quick, triumphant side glance to Harry.
The glee on the young man's face made Harry want to hex him into next week, but he just smiled in response. Daphne tensed under his touch, apparently she was not happy with this.
"For what purpose? We focus on British law. I fail to see why we would be required in France? Especially with everything going on right now?" she said and leaned closer into Harry.
Jeremy's smile vanished.
"Er, well I didn't—I believe it's a company retreat of sorts."
"I find it hard to imagine that the ministry would sanction a department retreat into a nation embroiled in full terror alert," Harry said flatly.
"We are in France tonight, are we not? What's the difference between this and a retreat?" Jerry asked, jutting out his chin in challenge.
Harry wasn't dumb enough to go for the bait. "For one, this event is under heavy guard. Your retreat wouldn't be," he pointed out in a calm voice.
"I will be requesting to stay behind even if it's been sanctioned. With Harry here on call for the foreseeable future with the horrors taking place I won't leave my daughter behind," Daphne said.
Her statement nipped the upcoming verbal fight between Jerry and him in the bud. Jerry shot him an annoyed glance and turned to Daphne again. The change of his expression from annoyed to charming was comical to watch—if it wasn't his wife the git tried to ensnare.
"Can't you leave her with the house elves or your parents?" Jerry asked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Harry smiled again. The man had made a foolish mistake there.
Daphne stiffened in his arm. "I quite enjoy raising my daughter, Jerry, and grandparents are there to spoil their grandchildren. Not to raise them." Her voice was polite yet firm, and held just a hint of the ire he knew she felt because of his suggestion to let Jessie go out of her sight.
"Quite rightly so," Lord Fawley said with a wide grin. His eyes darkened a little when he looked towards his son.
It seemed that the younger Fawleys' father was not overly impressed with his son's train of thought. Harry chuckled to himself. He had long ago dismissed Jerry as harmless and not a malicious individual, he just had very outdated views on things and had yet to catch up with people of his age. Daphne was not the only young witch who had told him in no uncertain terms that his outdated views were not appreciated.
As if to make up for his son's behaviour, Lord Fawley drew Daphne into a discussion about gardening.
Still chuckling to himself about the exchange that had just occurred, his eyes fell on Suzanne, the head of the French Auror department. She conversed with the wizard whom the minister had practically run to on his arrival. The wizard in question gave a glance in his direction, as if he had felt his eyes on himself, and directed a question at the French witch, his eyebrows raised in polite enquiry. The head of the Auror department turned her head to look at Harry, then took the man's arm and headed towards him..
"And I said to my wife that the roses should be-" Lord Fawley said.
"Apologies for interrupting you all." Suzanne's voice eased over Lord Fawley's, causing the older man to jump and turn to face the witch.
As always, Suzanne was dressed to impress. While she preferred dark blue pant suits and starched white blouses or impeccably cut sheath dresses in her professional environment, she'd gone all out tonight. The wide skirt of her princess cut, sleeveless ball gown billowed around her, and its crimson colour and the thin gold thread woven into the fabric drew the eyes towards her. The tight cut of the bodice left no doubt about her still trim figure that didn't have to hide behind young women. There were younger and more beautiful women than her present tonight, but her personality alone made them pale into insignificance.
Her lips curved into a winning smile that included the entire party. "May I introduce Lord Julian Laurent." She motioned with a hand to the strange wizard. "Julian, meet Mr. Harry Potter, and-?" She looked from Daphne to Jerry and Lord Fawley, and at last at Harry, an eyebrow asked in a silent question.
Harry hurried to make the necessary introductions.
Lord Laurent bowed politely. "A pleasure to meet you all., I confess I asked Suzanne here for an introduction. It is not often I get to meet a true war hero in the flesh." He spoke with polite ease and his accent, whilst clearly French, was not as strong as most Harry had encountered, it had soft undertones of southern England to it.
"Laurent? I know the name, wasn't your family one of the founding members of the French special operational aurors?" Lord Fawley asked.
"Quite right you are, my lord. My great-great grandfather introduced the department, though it has been disbanded recently due to…cutbacks," the Frenchman replied. The significant pause in the latter part of the sentence hinted at a mild annoyance with the politics of the French Ministry of Magic. His grey stormy eyes soon turned back to Harry and Daphne, however. "You must be Daphne Potter? An honour to meet you, the articles on your beauty does you a disservice my lady" as he took her hand a kissed her knuckles"
"You are very kind Lord Laurent" she replied with a gentle nod of the head.
"Not a blush in sight, I can see your husband ensures he knows how lucky he is to share his life with you and must remind you so, a good husband he must be" Julian's lips twitched upwards with a friendly, and genuine smile.
"A very good husband indeed" her eyes looked back to Harry filled with affection.
"And you need no introduction Mr Potter, truly an honor to meet you" he extended his hand. Harry reached forward and exchanged a health shake. He liked the man already, he was suave and charming without being arrogant with it.
"The pleasure is mine"
"Humble as well, you do your nation and name proud Mr Potter, I am impressed you choose the path of an auror after your experiences though?" the Frenchman questioned, gracefully taking a glass of wine from one of the floating trays.
"It felt right at the time, it can be rewarding work. Though it does keep me away from my family more than I would like" he replied, giving Daphne's waist a gentle squeeze, he knew she would rather he took any other job, especially these days.
Julian nodded in thought, his brows slightly furrowed as he took in his words.
"I can understand that mindset, I was an auror since I left school, like my father and his father before him. As you say it felt right, I don't serve anymore but I do act as a consultant for the department. I respect those that serve, even more so with the current situation. I mourn those who were recently killed in Nice just last week, one of them was a family friend"
"You have our sympathies" Harry replied genuinely, losing colleagues and friends was a blow he was all too familiar with.
"Would you like to join me over for refreshments? I am rather hungry myself and I wish to discuss your views on some training methods your country instills in their aurors. I would not want to bore your beautiful wife with such talks either" he spoke with a smile, before his eyes returned to Daphne. "Would you mind if I stole your husband for a time?"
"I am sure I can spare him for a little while"
"Are you sure, I don't wish to leave you to fend for yourself?" Harry injected. She smiled warmly at him, touching his arm in reassurance that it was fine.
"My parents will be turning up soon, don't fret love" his wife replied.
"Oh Anthony is coming, I do wish to speak with him!" Lord Fawley chimed in.
"I am sure he would like to speak with you too, Lord Fawley," Daphne laughed before turning to her husband. "Go on, talk work"
As so they did.
"I am surprised you haven't cursed the young man to oblivion yet Mr Potter" Julian spoke with a light chuckle as they made their way towards the large banquet table that was covered in a cream silk cloth which was threaded with shimmering gold that almost flickered with life. The moon could be seen through the giant ornate windows that the table sat beneath, with all manner of foods arrayed neatly.
"Call me Harry, I insist" he began as they reached the table, which was sparsely populated compared to the rest of the room. They looked back towards Daphne who was talking with the excitable Lord Fawley whilst Jerry just stared at her, unashamedly. "Jerramiah is harmless, in fact, reacting would give him more validation"
"Very well, Harry then I insist you call me Julian" the Frenchman nodded and raised his glass in acknowledgment. "Yes I see your point, still it must be frustrating that men out there think it right they can pursue your wife"
"Its arguably worse for Daphne"
A look of amusement passed Julians features as his lips twitched upwards.
"Yes, the man who conquered would be a fine match for many families, I wager a few take no qualms with still pursuing such a claim despite your marriage"
"You'd be correct, although it has eased, the birth of my daughter saw an end to most proposals. Now it's just offers of mistresses from time to time, the occasional potion has been attempted on my drinks. No doubt to try and earn some leverage over me" Harry replied, though those actions had reduced significantly it still bothered him.
"You have a child?"
"Yes, a little girl named Jessica, she turned six this year" he replied with a smile, albeit surprised the news about him having a child had not reached his ears.
"A beautiful name! I imagine she is a beautiful little girl?"
"She is indeed, far to innocent for the world and its politics"
"I understand that, back to your point, my family had such issues, we are very wealthy so many tried to get my sister and I's favour. One wizard managed to slip something to my sister once" his eyes darkened and his knuckles went white around his glass. "If I had not been informed by a witness, had I not made it in time then my sister's honour would have been stained" he took a deep drink of his wine.
"What happened to the wizard?"
"I challenged him to a duel, I killed him legally at the ministry, with witnesses. It was rather … controversial, dueling to the death is frowned upon here still" he explained. Harry felt a little jolt flow through him, the lord before him had no qualms or seemingly any guilt. Not that Harry blamed him.
"We don't have that in Britain, it was outlawed back in the 17th century I believe"
"With good reason, I am not in favour of dueling. Unregulated and you have a mass problem of tit for tat killings, however the insult to my family was too great for me to let it go" Julian replied, he reached for the table and plunked something small and colour that Harry did not recognise and popped it into his mouth before turning back to Harry. "Anyway, I did not drag you from your wife to talk of this, I wanted your opinion on the aurors you've worked with here in France"
"Well I've only really worked with Annabelle Monet and Gabriel Lavigne, so I couldn't give you a fair view of the department as a whole" he replied, opting for a sweet pastry from the table.
"Mademoiselle Monet is a fresh face, I know her father well, she will go far I am sure. Gabriel is a little .. Hard headed but he is a good auror" Julian explained, waving his hand as he took another sip of his wine. "But you fought at the ministry attack did you not? Did you not have observations about that?"
Harry resisted the urge to flinch at the mention of the Paris attack, whenever his mind lingered on that event he saw the bodies of dead children and parents. His eyes met Julian's and he saw a hint of understanding and grief behind those grey eyes.
"George, my partner and I were only with the small response force for about ten minutes, two aurors were killed who were at the front of the team" he explained, remembering the two men that were killed as they rounded the corner as they rushed to respond to the attack.
"Yes, understandable given the situation, they wished to help protect the ministry. But their discipline faltered, had they paused before they rounded the corner they might be alive today"
Harry coughed into his sleeve.
"A little harsh given the situation, and given we know what happened .."
"That doesn't change the fact that two additional lives were lost which could have been avoided" the Frenchman countered gently, his eyes meeting Harry's briefly before looking out at the ballroom, he raised his glass to a few who looked his way. "Suzanne is good at her job Harry, yet the French auror department's quality has fallen, its rash, underfunded and also its recruitment pool is limited"
Harry nodded, Robbards had mentioned in passing that only purebloods could serve in the French auror department. Given the number of pureblood families were dwindling, so too were their security forces.
"What is your advice? Don't they listen to you?" surely if the minister of magic was that keen to greet him he must have had some influence?
Julian snorted.
"The minister is a puppet at best, beholden to the rich and noble houses of France. I tried to suggest a bill for half bloods and muggle borns be able to serve, but the old families just laughed and even my influence has its limits"
"I thought Britain was bad at times," Harry muttered.
"Well, you know the French have to one up you at every turn" Jullian smirked and raised his glass, Harry clinked his own against it with a wry smile. His face grew serious, little expression could be told from his features as he took a sip from his glass. "What do you think of the movement? The muggleborn one I mean"
Harry took a sip of his own drink, he had to choose his words carefully in the current political climate, one out of context comment would be all over the media.
"I agree with equal rights, I don't agree with the demands certain groups are making back home. They effectively want to replace one blood status for another"
"I agree, whoever ordered the attack on the ministry and the slaughter of children lost what little support from the few sympathetic purebloods, I fear whomever is behind this might resort to more violence to get the message across"
"And that would achieve nothing except death" Harry replied.
"Indeed, though it worked in Britain, You just happened to be able to cut the head from the snake. Purebloods are outnumbered, if enough muggleborns could be swayed to rise up. Well then that spells trouble for the current ruling class in France"
*And beyond" Harry added.
They spoke for what Harry felt to be hours before he felt a tap on his shoulder, turning away from Julian he turned to the source of touch. Daphne stood with a small smile, her eyes showing her tiredness.
"Sorry to interrupt, but may I steal my husband back? My mother and father are looking forward to seeing their son-in-law" Harry felt a warmth spread through his chest at that, longing sense of family he craved for so long was finally achieved.
"Of course, you were kind enough to allow us to talk about work for so long" Julian spoke kindly, his eyes soft also. "I insist that you visit my home, your husband here is an interesting man I would very much like to speak some more, in a more casual setting as well"
"He certainly is, we would love to come wouldn't we Harry"
"Of course"
"Bring your daughter as well, I hear she is fond of hippogriffs, my estate has a griffon which she might like to meet"
"A griffon?" Daphne asked warily, her face betraying her worries. Harry gave her hand a soft squeeze, she was always nervous with their daughter. "Aren't they more aggressive than their cousins?"
"Normally yes, but Albert is quite docile you have my word he will not harm anyone"
She exchanged a nervous glance with Harry who gave her a gentle smile.
"Jess doesn't have to come near him, but I would love to see a griffon up close"
"Its not Jess I worry about love, its you" she chuckled nervously before turning her eyes back to Julian. "We will send you a letter to arrange a date?"
"Very well Mrs Potter, a good evening to you both" the Frenchman responded and gave a bow before disappearing into the crowd.
"He is charming isn't he" Harry chuckled, letting her know he wasn't worried.
"He is, but nothing on you, husband of mine" she replied, kissing his cheek. "Now let's go and see my parents, the sooner we see them the sooner you can take me home to bed" she whispered the last part.
"Lead on my lady" she muttered with a wink.
…
These insufferable fools, what she would've given to unleash cutting and piercing hexes and lay low the stuck up high society of European wizardry. However he wouldn't allow for that not this time, no her mission was to blend in, as the help and just listen. She would've ignored his orders if she wasn't terrified of the man, her brother's brutal end for his part in Paris made her think twice about disobeying him.
Their organisation needed to regroup, Paris had been sloppy. Losing the muggleborn movement massive support, they had lost nearly eighty members in Germany when a small group of aurors ambushed a meeting of the Germany ministry strike group. Whilst they had gathered a reputation of fear much like the death eaters did in the earlier days of the first and second British wars, this only seemed to bring the wrath of the newly forged union aurors down upon them.
She was angry, her brother killed for his hubris, three of her friends were killed in auror attacks, whilst these toffs laughed and rolled in their wealth and privilege! People fighting for the freedom of people like her were cut down without mercy, being caught by a French auror would spell death for their group. At least they had managed to kill a few aurors in return during an ambush in Nice. Two aurors killed, though one of their own was killed and another brutally injured.
She smiled a fake smile to a passing couple who didn't even acknowledge her presence. The urge to draw her wand was nearly overwhelming, but then she saw someone that gave her very mixed emotions.
Harry Potter.
The man who conquered was a hero, he killed the dark lord one on one in the battle of Hogwarts and ended the terror of the death eaters. He and his friends, along with the remaining aurors then rooted out fleeing death eaters and snatchers and brought them to justice.
Her parents had been avenged. The lump in her thought formed at the memory of the day her family was destroyed for simply being muggles who birthed two magical children, her father killed, murdered by a werewolf whilst snatchers took her mother. They never found her body, her brother had grabbed her and they had fled into the night, her family home set ablaze.
Potter had brought an end to those people.
However.
He married her. A pureblood, everything he fought against in that war he then went to marry one of them! Daphne Potter nee Greengrass stood proudly beside her trophy, no doubt that's how her and the rest of the purebloods viewed his union with the Greengrass family. When Potter was found to have been in the French ministry during the attack the senior leadership of their group panicked, it brought the British into the fight.
They had wanted to avoid this and focus on France first, with the country and its aurors having just come out of a war, most of the magical community were united and battle hardened after what they had endured.
When Britain joined the French and other European powers Potter and his family were researched heavily. Potter himself wasn't a target, killing him could either crush the morale of the British population, or worse send them into a frenzy like the french. No Potter wasn't to be killed unless there was no other choice. His family was completely off limits as well as an enraged Potter would be even more unpredictable.
There had been rumours in the early days that the eldest Greengrass daughter had lured Potter into a relationship, to protect her and her pureblood lot. The organisation spent the weeks after Britain joining trying to find out a way to cause a rift between muggle borns and purebloods, what better way than to find evidence that the remaining high society had manipulated the hero of the nation into a relationship?
Yet nothing could be gleaned, no evidence of money changing hands, no founded rumours. Mrs Potter wasn't even having an affair behind his back like in some pureblood circles.
She watched as the couple conversed with an older man, they were at ease together, Potter clearly loved his wife and she almost believed that Mrs Potter felt the same for her husband, yet she didn't believe it. She noted a younger wizard joining them, Harry Potter tensed, barely but she saw it and Mrs Potter drew closer. Did this newcomer have history?
Perhaps there was an inroad to distract Potter. Afterall, his team was well known for rounding up their members.
She smirked, she couldn't kill Potter and nore would she want to.
But she could cause trouble in paradise.
…
Thank you to Dorothea for the edits in the first half of the chapter, I will be giving my beta a break for a while and editing my own works for once.
This story will carry on, its not a novel so it won't be the day to day works, but major events in this tale. I am also working on a fluff series in this universe called Fleeting Moments, which will be short 500ish words on small unwritten moments in the story so far.
Look out for that soon.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter.